Basketball rebounder

ABSTRACT

A basketball rebounder may releasably attach to a backboard. The basketball rebounder may include a frame for supporting the basketball rebounder off the floor at a substantially fixed position relative to the backboard. The basketball rebounder may further include a plurality of nets which may be attached to the frame allowing the basketball rebounder to return a basketball substantially in a direction away from the backboard.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to the sport of basketball and, more particularly, to a basketball rebounder that may be used when practicing basketball shooting.

BACKGROUND

Basketball shooting is an essential part of the game of basketball. To become proficient at shooting, players must often spend countless hours practicing. Chasing after made or missed shots consumes energy that may be better spent concentrating on shooting and reduces the amount of shots a player can take in a given amount of time. Although having a partner to rebound the ball and return it to the player may be helpful, a partner may not always be available or may not always be the most efficient method of returning the basketball to the player.

Conventionally, basketball rebounders were designed to return basketballs only off made shots. Other conventional basketball rebounders would return basketballs off missed shots, but only when the basketball was shot from or near the free throw line. If a shot was attempted from a position in the basketball court to the side of the free throw line, conventional basketball rebounders interfered with proper shot trajectory towards the rim. Other rebounders interfered with the player's view. When using these rebounders, the player had to look through a net to see the basket when shooting which may affect the player's perception of the shot. Yet other conventional basketball rebounders were not proficient at capturing and returning basketballs bouncing off to the sides of the basketball rim. Conventional basketball rebounders that were relatively proficient at returning basketballs bouncing off to the sides of the basketball rim would similarly interfere with proper shot trajectory to the rim or the player's vision.

Yet other conventional basketball rebounders returned the basketball to a specific position in the basketball court, not allowing for the basketball to return to a position that may be more representative of a real, in-game basketball experience. Others take relatively long periods of time to return the ball back to the court, slowing down practice and hampering the player's real, in-game experience and conditioning. Yet other conventional basketball rebounders required a relatively long time to set-up, subtracting from valuable practice time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, together with the detailed description provided below, describe exemplary embodiments of the claimed invention. In the drawings and description that follow, like elements are identified with the same reference numerals. The drawings are not to scale and the proportion of certain elements may be exaggerated for the purpose of illustration.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example basketball rebounder.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of an example basketball rebounder.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an example embodiment of a joint that may be part of a basketball rebounding system.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a basketball rebounding apparatus in a collapsed configuration.

FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of a basketball rebounding system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an example basketball rebounder 100. Rebounder 100 is shown in conjunction with a basketball backboard 1 and a rim 2. In the example embodiment, rebounder 100 includes two side nets 3 a and 3 b on opposites sides of rebounder 100, and a bottom net 4 which extends between bottom portions of side nets 3 a and 3 b and is disposed slightly below and away from rim 2. Side nets 3 a and 3 b, and bottom net 4 in conjunction with backboard 1 define a basketball capturing receptacle for receiving a basketball during shooting practice.

The example embodiment also includes a frame 5 for attaching basketball rebounder 100 to backboard 1 and sustaining rebounder 100 upon or off the floor. Frame 5 may hold bottom net 4 at a downward slope relative to a line parallel to the floor, thereby allowing a shooter to shoot a basketball at rim 2 with the basketball impacting rim 2, backboard 1, side nets 3 a or 3 b, or bottom net 4 directly and the basketball rolling or bouncing down bottom net 4 in a direction away from the backboard and towards the floor in the back of rebounder 100 so that the player may retrieve the basketball and shoot again.

In one embodiment, bottom net 4 may be made of bungee cords woven or attached together. In one embodiment, bottom net 4 may be made of approximately ¼ inch diameter nylon bungee cords stapled or clamped together. In other embodiments, bottom net 4 would be made of bungee cords of other diameters, or bungee cords of other materials (e.g. polypropylene, rubber, fiber, and so on). In other embodiments, bottom net 4 would be made of other elastic or semi elastic materials (e.g. cord, line, cable, twine, string, fabric, plastic, rope, and so on). In one embodiment, bottom net 4 may be woven or attached together in a diamond or rhombus shape. In other embodiments, bottom net 4 would be woven or attached together in other shapes (e.g. squares, rectangles, triangles, and so on) to form an elastic or semi elastic surface.

In one embodiment, side nets 3 a and 3 b each have a substantially trapezoidal shape. In an embodiment, front side 6 is of shorter length than back side 7, and top side 8 is of shorter length than bottom side 9. Top side 8 may be comprised of a top portion of side nets 3 a or 3 b or in certain embodiments (not illustrated) would comprise a pole, bar, rod, shaft, line, wire, and so on. The shape of nets 3 a and 3 b in such an embodiment makes side nets 3 a and 3 b of relatively lower height near backboard 1 and rim 2 such that a shooter is able to shoot at rim 2 not only from a position directly or substantially behind the free throw line, but also from a position to the side of rebounder 100 such that the shooter may shoot above either side net 3 a or side net 3 b without affecting the trajectory of the basketball. The shape of nets 3 a and 3 b in the embodiment also makes side nets 3 a and 3 b relatively higher away from backboard 1 and rim 2 towards the back of rebounder 100, such that rebounder 100 may be effective at capturing basketballs bouncing relatively far off backboard 1 or rim 2 towards the back of rebounder 100 and returning the basketballs towards bottom net 4 so that the basketball can roll or bounce down bottom net 4 towards the floor in the back of rebounder 100 and the shooter may retrieve the basketball and shoot again.

In one embodiment, nets 3 a, 3 b, and 4 may be attached to frame 5 by releasable straps 10 such that the nets are easily attached during assembly and easily detached during disassembly of rebounder 100. In other embodiments, nets 3 a, 3 b, and 4 would be attached to frame 5 by other releasable means such as button straps, hooks, snaps, bands, fasteners, clips, clasps, and so on. In another embodiment, releasable straps such as velcro straps may attach side nets 3 a and 3 b to frame 5 such that side nets 3 a and 3 b may be easily released and reattached to frame 5. In such an embodiment, side nets 3 a and 3 b may be removed or they may hinge or fall downward (not shown) one at a time or both nets at the same time to further facilitate the shooter shooting a basketball directly at rim 2 or off backboard 1 from a position on the side line side of rebounder 100 without side nets 3 a and 3 b interfering with the trajectory of the basketball or the player's view of the rim. In other embodiments, other releasable and reattachable means (e.g., button straps, hooks, snaps, bands, fasteners, clips, clasps, and so on) would attach side nets 3 a and 3 b to frame 5 such that side nets 3 a and 3 b may be easily released and reattached to frame 5.

In one embodiment, the back end portion of bottom net 4 partially wraps around a back center top pole 12 such that when a basketball rolls down bottom net 4, it rolls smoothly over the edge formed by back center top pole 12 and on to the floor without getting caught on the edge. In one embodiment, bottom net 4 wraps around back center top pole 12 from 45 to 135 degrees and at attaches to back center bottom pole 13. In other embodiments, back center top pole 12 and back center bottom pole 13 would be bars, lines, cables, rods, and so on.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of an example basketball rebounder 100. In the example embodiment, rebounder 100 may include a plurality of poles. Among the plurality of poles may be front center pole 20, and front poles 21 a and 21 b. Front poles 21 a and 21 b may be joined to front center pole 20 near the bottom ends of front poles 21 a and 21 b. The example embodiment may also include back center top pole 12 and front-to-back poles 22 a and 22 b. Front-to-back poles 22 a and 22 b may be joined to front center pole 20 near the front end of front-to-back poles 22 a and 22 b. Front-to-back poles 22 a and 22 b may also be joined to back center top pole 12 near the back end of front-to-back poles 22 a and 22 b.

An example embodiment of rebounder 100 may further include back top poles 23 a and 23 b. Back top poles 23 a and 23 b may be joined to back center top pole 12 near the bottom end of back top poles 23 a and 23 b. The example embodiment may also include back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b. Back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b may be joined to back center pole 12 near the top end of back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b. The example embodiment may also include back center bottom pole 13. Back center bottom pole 13 may be joined to back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b near the right end and the left end of back center bottom pole 13. In one embodiment, rebounder 100 may include a second back center bottom pole 25. Second back center bottom pole 25 may be joined to back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b near the right end and the left end of second back center bottom pole 25 to give rebounder 100 additional rigidity and strength.

In one embodiment of rebounder 100, bottom net 4 may attach to front center pole 20 near the front end of bottom net 4 and to back center top pole 12 or back center bottom pole 13 near the back end of bottom net 4. In one embodiment, bottom net 4 may partially wrap around back center top pole 12 and attach to back center bottom pole 13.

In an example embodiment, front side 6 of side net 3 a (only side net 3 a is shown in FIG. 2 for ease of illustration) may attach to front pole 21 a, while back side 7 of side net 3 a may attach to back top pole 23 a. In one embodiment, bottom side 9 of side net 3 a may attach to front-to-back pole 22 a. In another embodiment, front side 6 and back side 7 may be made detachable from and reattachable to front pole 21 a and back top pole 23 a, respectively, to allow for detachment of side net 3 a from front pole 21 a and back top pole 23 a while bottom side 9 remains attached to front-to-back pole 22 a such that side net 3 a hinges or folds over to the side of rebounder 100 (not shown) to further facilitate basketball shooting from a side line side of rebounder 100.

In one embodiment, rebounder 100 may include hooks 26 a and 26 b. Hooks 26 a and 26 b may connect to front poles 21 a and 21 b to releasably engage backboard 1 (not shown). Hooks 26 a and 26 b may help support rebounder 100 from backboard 1 in an upright position or at least assist in supporting rebounder 100 at a substantially fixed position relative to backboard 1. In another embodiment, front poles 21 a and 21 b may be movable or front poles 21 a and 21 b may slide along front center pole 20, thereby allowing adjustment of hooks 26 a and 26 b for rebounder 100 to accommodate various backboard sizes. In other embodiments, rebounder 100 would include straps, snaps, bands, fasteners, clips, clasps, and so on, to releasably attach rebounder 100 to backboard 1.

In one embodiment, back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b provide support or at least assist in supporting rebounder 100 upon or off the floor. In other embodiments, rebounder 100 would include legs, bars, rods, shafts, stands, and so on, to provide support or at least help in supporting rebounder 100 upon or off the floor. In one embodiment, back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b may include rubber feet or equivalents to increase friction between back bottom poles 24 a and 24 b and the floor to increase the stability of rebounder 100.

In one embodiment, rebounder 100 may include hinges 27 a and 27 b. Hinges 27 a and 27 b may be connected to poles in rebounder 100 at various different locations to reinforce rebounder 100. In one embodiment, hinges 27 a and 27 b may be connected between front-to-back poles 22 and back top poles 23. In example embodiments, the poles included in rebounder 100 would be joined by couplers, straps, fittings, joints, fasteners, adhesives, connectors, and so on. In one embodiment, the poles may be joined by joints such as joint 28. Although rebounder 100 may include multiple joints, for ease of illustration, only joint 28 is shown.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an example embodiment of a joint 28 that may be part of a basketball rebounding system, such as rebounder 100. In the example embodiment, joint 28 may join back bottom pole 24 a and back center top pole 12. Rebounder 100 may include other joints to join other poles from the plurality of poles that may form part of rebounder 100. Joint 28 may include a first joining portion 31. Joint 28 may accept the end of back bottom pole 24 a radially into first joining portion 31. Joint 28 may also include openings 32 and 33 to accept a fastener or other type of hardware for securing back bottom pole 24 a in first joining portion 31. Joint 28 may also include a second joining portion 34. Second joining portion 34 may accept and hold back center top pole 12 in a position perpendicular to back bottom pole 24 a. Joint 28 may hold back center top pole 12 in second joining portion 34 through friction exerted on a portion of back center top pole 12.

In one embodiment, joint 28 includes opening 35. Hardware such as a screw, nut and bolt, and so on, may be inserted in opening 35 and fasten to increase friction applied to the portion of back center top pole 12 in second joining portion 34. In other embodiments, friction would be applied by a spring, a strap, and so on. Friction may be increased for second joining portion 34 to clamp back center top pole 12 in a fixed position. In another embodiment, friction applied to the portion of back center top pole 12 may be decreased such that back center top pole 12 may rotate around its axis inside second joining portion 34.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a basketball rebounding apparatus, such as rebounder 100, in a collapsed configuration. With all, or at least some, of the joints included in rebounder 100 loosened, rebounder 100 may collapse into a substantially flat configuration while the poles remain substantially joined. Rebounder 100 may be easily folded with the nets still attached (nets not shown for ease of illustration) to a substantially flat configuration, while the frame remains integral.

FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of a basketball rebounding system, such as rebounder 100. In the embodiment, the distance between back top poles 24 a and 24 b is larger than the distance between front top poles 21 a and 21 b such that the distance between the top sides 8 a and 8 b of side nets 3 a and 3 b is relatively larger near the back top poles 24 a and 24 b than near the front poles 21 a and 21 b. In the embodiment, the top sides 8 a and 8 b of side nets 3 a and 3 b open up away from each other as they extend outwardly away from the backboard allowing for shooting a basketball directly at rim 2 from wider angles to the sides of the free throw line without having to shoot over side nets 3 a and 3 b.

While the bottom sides 9 a and 9 b of side nets 3 a and 3 b may be substantially parallel in certain embodiments, the top sides 8 a and 8 b of side nets 3 a and 3 b open up away from each other as they extend outwardly away from the backboard, increasing the volume that nets 3 a, 3 b, and 4 encompass. The increased volume makes the basketball capturing receptacle of rebounder 100 even larger, and increases the effectiveness of rebounder 100 at capturing basketballs bouncing relatively far off backboard 1 and rim 2 towards the back of rebounder 100. Side nets 3 a and 3 b may then return the basketball towards bottom net 4 allowing the basketball to roll or bounce down bottom net 4 towards the floor in the back of rebounder 100 so that the shooter may retrieve the basketball and shoot again. While top sides 8 a and 8 b may be substantially parallel in certain embodiments, in other embodiments they may open up away from each other as they extend outwardly away from the backboard.

To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is used in the specification or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “or” is employed (e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both.” When the applicants intend to indicate “only A or B but not both” then the term “only A or B but not both” is employed. Thus, use of the term “or” herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See, Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (2d. Ed. 1995). Also, to the extent that the terms “in” or “into” are used in the specification or the claims, it is intended to additionally mean “on” or “onto.”

While the present application illustrates various embodiments, and while these embodiments have been described in some detail, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the claimed invention to such detail. Departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicant's claimed invention. Therefore, the invention, in its broader aspects, is not limited to the specific details, the representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described. 

1. A basketball returning apparatus, comprising: a plurality of poles comprising, at least one front center pole; at least two front poles, each front pole having a top end portion and a bottom end portion, and each front pole configured to be joined to the at least one front center pole near the bottom end portion; at least one back center top pole; at least two front-to-back poles, each front-to-back pole having a front end portion and a back end portion, and each front-to-back pole configured to be joined to the at least one front center pole near the front end portion and to the at least one back center top pole near the back end portion; at least two back top poles, each back top pole having a bottom end portion, and each back top pole configured to be joined to the at least one back center top pole near the bottom end portion; at least two back bottom poles, each back bottom pole having a top end portion, and each back bottom pole configured to be joined to the at least one back center pole near the top end portion; and at least one back center bottom pole having a right end portion and a left end portion, the at least one back center bottom pole configured to be joined to the at least two back bottom poles at the right end portion and the left end portion; at least one bottom net, the at least one bottom net having a front end portion configured to attach to the at least one front center pole and the at least one bottom net having a back end portion configured to attach to at least one of the at least one back center bottom pole; at least two side nets, each side net having, a front side portion configured to attach to one of the at least two front poles, a back side portion configured to attach to one of the at least two back top poles, where the back side portion is longer than the front side portion, a top side portion, and a bottom side portion, where the bottom side portion is longer than the top side portion; and support means for supporting the basketball returning apparatus at a substantially fixed position relative to a backboard.
 2. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, comprising means for joining the plurality of poles such that the basketball returning apparatus is configured to collapse from an installed configuration to a substantially flat configuration while the plurality of poles remain substantially joined.
 3. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 2, where the means for joining the plurality of poles comprises a plurality of joints, each joint having a first joining portion for radially coupling to an end portion of a first pole from the plurality of poles and a second joining portion for substantially perpendicularly coupling to a selected portion of a second pole from the plurality of poles, the second joining portion holding the selected portion of the second pole from the plurality of poles through an amount of friction exerted on the selected portion of the second pole from the plurality of poles such that the basketball returning apparatus is configured to collapse into the substantially flat configuration by reducing the amount of friction exerted on the selected portion of the second pole from the plurality of poles.
 4. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, comprising a second back center bottom pole having a right end portion and a left end portion, the second back center bottom pole configured to be joined to the at least two back bottom poles near the right end portion and the left end portion for giving additional rigidity to the basketball returning apparatus.
 5. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, where the at least one bottom net comprises elastic strings, the elastic strings woven or attached together to form the at least one bottom net.
 6. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, the back end portion of the at least one bottom net further configured to wrap 45 to 135 degrees around the at least one back center top pole.
 7. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, the support means comprising at least two hanging hooks, each hanging hook configured to connect to the at least two front poles for releasably hanging the basketball returning apparatus from the backboard.
 8. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 7, the at least two front poles configured to slide along the at least one front center pole thereby allowing adjustment of the basketball returning apparatus to accommodate various backboard sizes.
 9. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, the support means including the at least two back bottom poles configured to support the basketball returning apparatus off a floor.
 10. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the distance between the at least two back top poles is larger than the distance between the at least two front top poles such that the distance between the top side portions of the at least two side nets is relatively larger near the at least two back top poles than near the at least two front poles.
 11. The basketball returning apparatus of claim 1, where the front side portion of at least one of the at least two side nets is configured to detach from the at least two front poles, and where the back side portion of at least one of the at least two side nets is configured to detach from the at least two back top poles to allow for removal of at least one of the at least two side nets at a time to further facilitate basketball shooting from a side line side of the basketball returning apparatus.
 12. A basketball returning system configured to operate in conjunction with a backboard and a floor, comprising: a first side net and a second side net, each of the first side net and the second side net having, a front top corner; a front bottom corner; a back top corner; and a front bottom corner; side net holding means configured to hold the first side net and the second side net such that the distance between the front top corner of the first side net and the front top corner of the second side net is less than the distance between the back top corner of the first side net and the back top corner of the second side net, while the distance between the front bottom corner of the first side net and the front bottom corner of the second side net is substantially the same as the distance between the back bottom corner of the first side net and the back bottom corner of the second side net; a bottom net; bottom net holding means configured to hold the bottom net at a slope relative to the floor thereby enabling the bottom net to return a basketball impacting the bottom net substantially in a direction away from the backboard; attachment means for attaching the first side net and the second side net to the side net holding means, and the bottom net to the bottom net holding means; and support means for one or more of releasably attaching the basketball returning system to the backboard and sustaining the basketball returning system upon the floor.
 13. The basketball returning system of claim 12, where the side net holding means, the bottom net holding means and the support means comprise a plurality of poles, at least some of the plurality of poles joined by joints, each joint having a first joining portion for radially coupling to an end portion of a first pole from the plurality of poles and a second joining portion for perpendicularly coupling to a selected portion of a second pole from the plurality of poles, the second joining portion holding the selected portion of the second pole from the plurality of poles through friction exerted on the selected portion of the second pole from the plurality of poles such that the basketball returning system is configured to fold into a substantially flat configuration while the plurality of poles remains substantially joined by reducing the friction exerted on the selected portion of the second pole from the plurality of poles.
 14. The basketball returning system of claim 12, the bottom net holding means comprising at least a first bar and a second bar, the bottom net holding means further configured to hold the bottom net such that the bottom net partially wraps around the first bar and attaches to the second bar.
 15. The basketball returning system of claim 12, the support means including releasably attaching means selected from the group consisting of straps, hooks, snaps, bands, fasteners, clips, clasps, and combinations thereof.
 16. The basketball returning system of claim 12, the support means including means of sustaining the basketball returning system upon the floor selected from the group consisting of legs, poles, bars, rods, shafts, stands, and combinations thereof.
 17. The basketball returning system of claim 12, the first side net and the second side net each having a substantially trapezoidal shape with a front side connecting the front top corner and the front bottom corner being of shorter length than a back side connecting the back top corner and the back bottom corner, and with a top side connecting the front top corner and the back top corner being of shorter length than a bottom side connecting the front bottom corner to the back bottom corner.
 18. The basketball returning system of claim 12, the attachment means configured for reattachable detachment of the first side net and the second side net from the side net holding means for removal of the first side net or the second side net to further facilitate basketball shooting in a direction generally towards the backboard from a position on a side line side of the basketball returning system.
 19. A basketball rebounding apparatus for releasably attaching to a backboard holding a basketball rim, comprising: a frame having a at least two hooks configured to releasably engage the backboard and having a plurality of legs for supporting the basketball rebounding apparatus off a floor at a substantially fixed position relative to the backboard, the frame extending outwardly around and beneath the basketball rim; a plurality of nets releasably attached to the frame, the plurality of nets in conjunction with the backboard defining a basketball capturing receptacle for receiving a basketball, where the plurality of nets includes opposing side nets and a bottom net, the bottom net extending between bottom portions of the side nets, the bottom portions of the side nets being substantially parallel while top portions of the side nets open away from each other as they extend outwardly away from the backboard, and where the bottom net is disposed slightly below and away from the basketball rim and at a downward slope relative to a line parallel to the floor thereby enabling the bottom net to return a basketball impacting the bottom net substantially in a direction away from the backboard.
 20. The basketball rebounding apparatus of claim 19, the side nets configured for removal of at least one side net at a time to further facilitate shooting of a basketball towards the basketball rim from a position to the side of the basketball rebounding system.
 21. The basketball rebounding apparatus of claim 19, the frame configured to fold to a substantially flat configuration while the plurality of nets remains releasably attached to the frame and the frame remains integral.
 22. The basketball rebounding apparatus of claim 19, the at least two hooks configured to adjust along an axis substantially parallel to the top of the backboard to releasably engage various different sizes of backboards. 